Leagues on pause during lockdown
England Hockey have announced that, in line with the national lockdown, all club hockey is to be suspended until December 4 at the earliest.
That includes the Men’s Hockey League, Women’s Hockey League, Verde Recreo Hockey League and the West Clubs Women’s Hockey League.
In a statement on its website, England Hockey said: “England Hockey are disappointed to have to confirm that the national lockdown announced on Saturday will mean no club or community hockey from 5 November until after 4 December at the earliest.
“The latest government announcement orders all sports facilities to close and therefore club and other community hockey activity is suspended until the game is in a position to resume.
“Over the last few months all those involved in delivering hockey safely have helped to prove that the sport is extremely low risk in terms of the transmission of Covid and this gives us confidence that we can be back soon. We are very grateful to all the Covid officers, volunteers, players, coaches and officials that went the extra mile to provide a safe place for hockey to be played.
“At England Hockey we continue to receive overwhelming feedback from participants that the physical and mental health benefits of being able to take part are significant. We recognise that the next few weeks will be challenging for those like us that love the game and will miss the opportunity to be out playing, coaching and officiating with friends.
“The government announcement made reference to returning to the Covid Alert Levels after the end of this period of lockdown, and should that be the case we are confident that clubs will be able to resume promptly in line with our previously issued Return to Play guidance. If it becomes clearer in time that the lockdown will end on 4 December we encourage clubs to consider resuming some activity before Christmas if at all possible.
“To mitigate the risk of changes and with the uncertainty about what level the club may be in at the end of this period, we recommend that the time until Christmas is used for training and very local matches. The aim of this is to ensure that activities fall in line with any level-based restrictions that may be in place.
“It will take time to determine the best approach to reorganising activity and we ask that players and clubs respect the need for organisers to consider the next steps properly in light of the timing and extent of the upcoming break.
“England Hockey will communicate with all clubs, England Hockey League teams and EH Championships entrants as well as Player Pathway organisers in the coming days.”
On the pitch, Team Bath Buccaneers suffered a 4-0 defeat against second-placed and unbeaten Reading in Division South of the Men’s Hockey League, which leaves them with just one win from six so far. The Ladies were able to battle back from 2-0 down to beat Bristol Firebrands 3-2 in the Women’s Hockey League Conference South.
A penalty corner from Becky Dru followed by a goal from Bella Slawin gave Firebrands a 2-0 lead after 15 minutes. Anna Edwards managed to pull one back for Buccs three minutes later before Ciara Branagan levelled the match four minutes before half-time. Buccs again left it late to win the match as Sophie Byrne netted two minutes from time to keep them second with three wins from six.
In the Verde Recreo Hockey League, Buccs A began their Premiership campaign with a 4-2 win over Swindon with the campaign now on hold no sooner than it had started. The B team drew 2-2 at Chippenham A in Conference North in their opener, while City of Bath avenged the previous week’s defeat with a 3-1 win over Cirencester.
There was a first win of the season for Buccs D at Taunton Vale B, 4-1, while the C side were beaten 3-2 by Bridgwater following the previous week’s victory, leaving both sides on three points in Central One. Keynsham top Central Two after a second win, 3-1 at Clifton Robinsons C, Corsham matched that with a 1-0 success at Old Bristolians A while City of Bath A won the derby at Buccs E 3-2 to leave Buccs pointless.
Keynsham A suffered their second defeat in West Central Two, 3-2 against Clifton Robinsons E. It’s the same for Corsham A in East Central Two after they were beaten 5-1 by Yate A, Buccs G ran out 6-2 winners against Bristol & West E.
In the West Clubs Women’s Hockey League, Corsham maintained their unbeaten start after following up last week’s draw with a 2-1 win over Frome in East Division. Team Bath Buccs 3rd thrashed Weymouth 8-0 to make it two wins from two at the top.
Keynsham drew 2-2 at Wick for their first point in Berkeley Division One, while the derby in Whitehorse Division One saw Buccs 4th beat City of Bath 2nd 3-0 to also make it two wins from two. Keynsham 2nd were beaten 6-0 by North Wilts for their second defeat of the campaign as City of Bath were edged out of a nine-goal thriller at West Wilts.
Buccs 5th beat Royal Wootton Bassett 3rd 3-2 to begin their Whitehorse Division Two campaign with a win. Corsham 3rd held West Wilts 3rd to a 1-1 draw to claim a first point of their season.